Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tapping device for at least one bag-in-box package according to the preamble of claim 1 and an actuating apparatus and cartridge therefor. The bag-in-box package is used for accommodating a beverage, such as juice or wine and has a tapping valve for tapping the beverage located in the bag, which tapping valve can be actuated vertically. The bag is emptied during tapping, without air flowing back into the bag, which means that the beverage located in the bag does not come into contact with oxygen, even after the bag-in-box package is opened, and therefore has a long shelf life.
Brief Discussion of the Related Art
A generic tapping device is known from WO 2012 041271 A2. This known tapping device has an actuating apparatus with a valve-mounting bearing and an actuating means for actuating the tapping valve. The actuating means is linked on the valve-mounting bearing by means of a horizontal pivot axis and has an upwardly directed lever arm. The lever arm is arranged outside of the housing and can therefore be actuated manually in the essentially horizontal direction for tapping. The horizontal actuation is converted via the pivot axis into a vertical actuation of the tapping valve from above. In this case, depending on the configuration of the tapping valve, either the tapping valve is pressed down, so that wings, which protrude laterally on the tapping valve and rest on the valve-mounting bearing, are moved upwards relatively to the tapping valve to actuate the tapping valve. In a different configuration of the tapping valve, the tapping valve fixedly bears on the valve-mounting bearing by way of laterally-protruding wings and actuation takes place by pressing from above on an actuating region on the tapping valve provided for that.
The housing of this known tapping device is constructed to be thermally insulating. Within the housing, a cooling of the bag-in-box package, and therefore of the beverage located therein, takes place. However, the thermal insulation of the housing is adversely influenced here by the lever arm of the actuating means arranged in a door of the housing.